"Locked out of the legal means of material survival, looked down upon by predatory politicians and police, left with the least relevant educational opportunities, talked at with contempt and not talked to with love-- is there any question why such youth are alienated?...

They look at the lives they live and see not "civil rights progress", but a drumbeat of civil repression by a state at war with their dreams.

Why the surprise?

This is not the lost generation....

They are the children of the L.A. rebellion, the children of the MOVE bombing, the children of the Black Panthers, and the grandchildren of Malcolm; far from lost, they are probably the most aware generation since Nat Turner's; they are not so much lost as they are mislaid, discarded by this increasingly racist system that undermines their inherent worth. They are all potential revolutionaries, with the historical power to transform our dull realities.

Since its inception, YUCA believes that the people who are most affected should be the driving force to determining and bringing about their own solution. YUCA was founded on the belief that the most effective youth program should include the intense involvement of young people at all levels of the organization. As a result, representing our constituency, YUCA is led and run at all levels entirely by young people of color, majority low-income, majority women, thus providing an opportunity for us to define our own needs, determine our own vision, and implement it.

Through intense leadership development that is grounded in real-time community organizing, young people at YUCA prove that youth are not just the promise of the future, but all the possibilities of the present

As a community, East Palo Alto has a rich history of movement. It is a history borne out of struggle and the self-determined imagination of the Black Power movement that struggles led by other peoples of color are also driven by.

But the spirit of organizing is well and alive in our community. These are the footsteps that young people from YUCA follow in order to carve our own paths. Young people from YUCA are principled fighters and leaders who put our words and ideals to action. Since 1994, YUCA youth have taken on pressing community issues - whether it is environmental racism, tenant rights, or juvenile justice.

YUCA youth currently work on two campaigns: 1) to promote environmental health, justice, and anti-displacement principles in land use planning policies, and 2) to promote thriving school environments aiming to increase high school graduation rates and preparing students for college or career.

Whether by organizing Marches, Rallies, Demonstrations or Actions, YUCA mobilizes our community to take ACTION!

Click on the above link to participate in the different ways that you can make a change in our community!